Is swapping out a carbine buffer setup on a midlength dpms 308 for a a5 buffer setup worth it. What spring/ buffer combo should be used.
A-5 Buffer setup 308 help
- Thread starter Yeti-george
- Start date
The actual A5 length buffer will not work in an AR10. If your buffer is the standard AR15 carbine length you are already using the A5 length receiver extension, it is where they originated. If you have the extra short buffer, you are using a standard length carbine receiver extension.
With the different lengths and profiles of large frame bolt carriers there is not a lot of easy mix and match here, stick with the profiles the OEM shipped it with.
This is a major pain point for franken-gun AR10 builds as there are so many conflicting standards.
You will not be using an A5 buffer with a large frame DPMS in an A5/ArmaLite RET, but the A5 RET is what you want.
The ArmaLite/A5 RET is great for the large frame carbines because you can use a longer AR-10 spring and the common AR-15 carbine length buffers, vs the tiny little DPMS LR-308 carbine buffers that kinda suck.
The biggest problem with using a standard AR-15 carbine RET with a large frame AR is that they don’t allow enough spring length to fit in there. The A5 RET allows a full-length extra power AR-10 rifle spring, so when you pair that with an AR-15 carbine buffer, the guns run like they’re supposed to.
ArmaLite Inc. was probably the first company to crack the code of reliability with an AR-10 carbine in the 2000s. KAC had a lot of problems with the early SR-25K and MLGS 16” SR-25s using standard AR-15 carbine RETs. They went to mid-length RETs and longer action springs quite some time ago.
It'll help a little bit especially if you add an adjustable gas block and a muzzle brake
What model rifle do you have exactly and do you handload?
The spring length/weight is more important than the buffer weight.
Buffer weight is really to counter carrier bounce in full auto guns.
Port diameter and spring weight really are the main places to tame the system into an optimum cyclic rate window.
Buffer weight is really to counter carrier bounce in full auto guns.
Port diameter and spring weight really are the main places to tame the system into an optimum cyclic rate window.
I've found the Tubbs flat wire spring combined with a Kynshot hydraulic buffer provides a very soft recoil impulse. This is in an A5 length receiver extension tube. I don't recall which model buffer I used. I've used the hydraulic buffer for 2500+ rounds without any issues.
Yeah, don't do this if you want reliability. You will have headache after headache. Just get the Armalite AR10 RET kit with the tube, spring, buffer, and castle nut from everygunpart.com and then use the heaviest buffer that you can that gives you 3 o'clock ejection.
Have you shot that set-up both in the extreme cold and summer?
One of the challenges with hydraulic fluid cylinders and temperature gradients is loss of the seals from cycles in varying temp and pressure environments. They work amazingly-well with such a smooth feel to the action, until they fail.
2500rds is a good run though. I hope it continues to work for you for another 2500rds.
They have always interested me.
I've not used it in extreme cold. I'd say it's been run between 40 and 90F. It's in a gas gun I use for prs.
kynshot must have got their shit together then. back when they started those where junk. had 2 of them in 5.56 cal destroy themselves inside of 500 rounds.
why did endine stop selling their hydraulic buffers? i know they came from .mil and those work great, i still have one that keeps going.
endine makes smaller versions for manufacturing equipment for things that reciprocate. i have them on some small printing machines. they last for ever.
i have an original endine hydraulic buffer and have not seen any issues regarding temps hot or cold but i live in s. az. its been shot plenty in the heat.
Th heat is great for seals as long as you stay within a pretty narrow temperature range (flatland AZ).
Once you start cycling through a wide temp range, things shrink all around, including seals. Add the normal cylinder pressure and the fluid often finds a way to get out.
There are som cool Aerospace solutions to that though, but they’re expensive (cryogenic cooling pre-fitment).
That is so funny because Stoner originally wanted to build AR-10s for the Army back in the day but they went with KAC in spite of problems.
Anyway, @Yeti-george , listen to these guys.
I don't have much experience to offer but my own. I have the Windham Weaponry R16SFST-308.
This has a 4150M chromed moly barrel with a fixed mid-length gas tube. I never fired it in this original carabine config. I switched to a rifle tube and the Magpul PRS Gen III adujustable stock. Long story short, I had to mix and match weights in my buffer and got up to 6.1 ounces to run it right with 168 gr HPBT.
I am still the stupidest person here but I know just enough to know the other guys are giving you good advice.
